KUALA LUMPUR - Japan will provide US$19.5 million in humanitarian assistance to Afghanistan, including support for migrants, according to Afghanistan’s Taliban-run Ministry for Refugees and Repatriation.

The ministry said Japan’s charge d’affaires in Kabul, Kinichi Masamoto, made the pledge during a meeting with Acting Minister Abdul Kabir, according to Amu TV.

According to a ministry statement, Masamoto said Japan has provided about US$550 million in aid to Afghanistan through United Nations agencies since the Taliban returned to power in 2021.

He added that Japan would continue its assistance while adhering to a policy of non-interference in Afghanistan’s internal affairs, the statement said.

Japan’s embassy in Kabul has not publicly commented on the meeting or the aid commitment.

During the meeting, Abdul Kabir urged Japan and the international community to support job-creation projects for Afghans returning from neighbouring countries, the ministry said.

The pledge comes as Afghanistan faces a surge in deportations from neighbouring states, particularly Pakistan and Iran.

The Taliban’s High Commission for Migrant Affairs said Pakistan deported 2,025 Afghan migrants on Sunday, while 23 others were expelled from Iran, with most returns carried out forcibly.

It said the migrants returned through border crossings including Torkham, Spin Boldak, Bahramcha, Pul-e-Abresham and Islam Qala.

Commission data showed that between Jan 9 and Jan 16, Pakistan deported 16,247 Afghan migrants, while Iran expelled 802 others during the same period, most of them forcibly.

The United Nations has previously said about 2.6 million migrants returned to Afghanistan in 2025, warning that the mass returns are placing severe pressure on the country’s limited resources and humanitarian response capacity.